Women&#39;s open heel shoe



Max-d1 119, 1963 L. L. TAICHER 3,931,563

WOMEN'S OPEN HEEL SHOE Filed Sept. 19, 1960 H/S ATTORNEYJ" 3,081,551 Patented Mar. 19, 1963 3,081,561 WOMENS OPEN HEEL SHOE Leonard L. Taieher, Miami, Fla., assignor to Caressa, Inn, Miami, Fla, a corporation of Florida Filed dept. 19, 1950, er. No. 56,945 4 Claims. ((11. 36-2.5)

The present invention relates to improvements in womens shoes of the open heel or sling type.

In this type of shoe, the main upper-provided support for the heel end of the wearers foot is a sling or band arranged to extend about the extreme upper portion of her heel.

Upwardly extending support straps connected to each side of the heel sling and to the heel end of the insole, or to the shoe heel are frequently used to help keep the rear sling end at the proper elevation and the wearers heel in contact with the heel portion of the insole when she is walking. But even when a shoe is new, said prior art sling support straps offer no resistance to objectional relative sideward movement of the wearers heel on the related insole surface. Then, due to stretching of the sling, its supporting straps and other parts of the upper after the shoe has been broken, in, so to speak, such sling support straps are no longer effective to maintain the sling in operative position or keep the wearers heel in contact with the insole.

It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to overcome the difiiculties above mentioned through the provision of heel sling support straps in the form of stiff but somewhat flexible posts so as to prevent sagging of the sling while offering some resistance to relative sideward movement of the wearers heel on the upper surface of the insole. Since these posts are both stiff and nonstretchable in a lengthwise direction, the rear sling end will be normally maintained in proper position about the extreme upper part of the wearers heel, and the sling will also be held down so as to prevent separation of her heel in a vertical direction from the upper insole surface as she walks.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a shoe of this type wherein the open heel end of the upper literally clings to the wearers heel at each side and in back of the same, the nature of the invention being such that the shoe is comfortable to wear and will always present a neat appearance.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood as the description proceeds, the drawing illustrating a now peferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the inventive concept is suceptible of other mechanical expressions within the spirit and scope of the subject matter claimed hereinafter.

In the drawing, wherein the same reference characters have been used to designate the same parts wherever they appear in the several views FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an open heel or sling type shoe for women embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail view of one of the novel sling retaining posts;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the post shown in 1 16.2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View through the post taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the flexible post reinforcement member; and

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the shoe, the wearers heel being indicated in dotted lines. it

Referring to the drawing by reference characters, the illustrated shoe has the outer sole 10 which may provide the wear lift 10a, numeral 11 indicating a preferably cushion insole having the rear portion 11:: which is supported by the usual wedge form heel 12. Although a wedge form heel 12 is illustrated, other heel types may be used.

In carrying out the invention, the inner and outer soles 1t), 11 are secured together adhesively or in any preferred manner, the same being the case in respect to attachment of the inner sole or insole portion 11a to the top surface of the wedge form heel 12.

The illustrated shoe may have any preferred type of vamp, although as herein disclosed, the toe end of the vamp 13 is open and the vamp incorporates instep strap 14 which may be separably connected to one vamp side as is customary in the art.

The sling 15 which encircles the wearers heel just above the rearmost protrusion 16 thereof is spaced considerably above the plane of the heel portion 11a of the inner sole, said sling comprising inner and outer plies 15a, 15b which are stitched together by marginal rows of stitching 18, as usual. The lower ends of the sling 15 are inturned to underlie the inner sole or insole portion 11a and are secured thereto in the usual or in a preferred way.

Corning now to the essence of the present invention, attention is directed to the strap simulating sling supporting posts 17 which, although containing hereinafter described stiffening means, are to all exterior appearances simply sling retaining straps of known type.

Posts 17 are L-form in side elevation and provide foot ends 1712 as shown in HS. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, it will be noted that each of the posts 17 provides an upper end tab 17a which is compressed between sling plies 15a, 15b and fastened to sling 15 by at least one of the rows of the sling ply-connecting stitching 18. The lower inturned foot end 171) of each post 17 is compressed between the insole portion 11a and the top surface of the heel wedge 12. This lower inturned post end 17b terminates in a tab which is shown in FIG. 4 as tacked as at 19 to the top surface of the heel wedge 12. However, other means may be employed to secure tabs 17c between insole portion 11a and heel wedge 12.

In detail, each post 17 comprises a front or cover strip 21 and an over width rear or backing strip 20. The backing strip 20 which is adjacent the wearers foot has inwardly turned sides 20a whose free edges substantially contiguously engage, as indicated, in FIG. 3, so that the backing strip is of double thickness as compared to the front or outer strip 21 and for a purpose which will be presently apparent.

The cover strip 21 and the double thickness backing strip 2% are secured together by longitudinally extending side margin-adjacent rows of stitching 21a (see FIGS. 1 and 2) so as to provide the post 17 with an elongated pocket 22, as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4. Before application to the shoe, as in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, each post 17 has a pocket forming passage extending from one end to the other between the rows of stitching 21a (see FIG. 3). The upper and lower ends of pockets 22 are defined by the respective aforementioned tabs 17a, 170, as will be understood from FIG. 4.

Into one or the other, but preferably into both pockets 22 are inserted the bight end 23a of a preferably U- form spring steel stiffening member 23 which has the elongated laterally spaced legs 2315.

As will be understood from FIG. 4, the bight end of the stiffening member 23 terminates at the site of the inner end of the sling carried post tab 17a. On the other hand, the free lower ends of the stiffening member legs 23b are turned inwardly as at 230 so as to provide a reinforcement for the lower or foot end 17b of post 1 7 which extends between the top surface of the heel wedge 12 and the proximate surface of the inner sole portion 11a.

From the foregoing it will be understood that there will also be a clinging of the always properly positioned sling (15) end to the wearers heel just above the rearmost protrusion 16 thereof. It will also be clear that posts 17 are located adjacent to the wearers heel sides to tend to resist sideward movement of her heel with respect to the heel surface of the inner sole portion 11a. Posts 17 also support and maintain the curved portions of sling 17. Then, too, since posts 17 are non-stretchable lengthwise, there will not be any noticeable vertical separation of the wearers heel from the heel portion of the inner sole portion 11a as she walks, even after the shoe has been in service for an extended period.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A womans open heel shoe comprising in combination an inner sole and a heel-incorporating outer sole, a two ply inner and outer sole-carried wearers upper heel portion encircling sling, a row of stitching securing said sling plies together adjacent opposite edges of the latter, an upwardly extending strap-simulating two ply solecarried post of flexible material at opposite sides of the shoe, said posts located rearwardly of the sole-carried ends of said sling but forwardly of the wearers upper heel-encircling portion of the latter, a row of stitching connecting the post plies adjacent each side of the latter whereby to provide a stiffening member-receiving pocket therebetween, at least one of said post pockets being open at its lower end, a U-form wire-like stiffening member having substantially spaced limbs and having a bight portion, said stiffening member providing inturned limb terminals which give it a side elevational L-form, said stiffening member being insert-able bight-end-first into the initially open lower pocket end of said particularly mentioned post so that the latter will also be side elevationally L-form, said stiffening member bight portion being located immediately adjacent its upper pocket end and sling, whereby to sustain the latter and avoid undue wear at the upper pocket end, the overall length of said two posts and likewise the initial length of said pockets being greater than the length of said stiffening member, the ends of the stiffening member terminating short of each end of its post, tabs at each end of each of said posts and defining the pocket ends, said tabs provided by contiguously engaging ply portions of the respective posts, the upper of said post tabs being compressed between the plies of said sling and secured thereto by at least one of said first-mentioned rows of stitching, the lower post-provided tab portions and adjacent pocket portions along with at least the major portions of said inturned stiffening member terminals being compressed between said inner and outer shoe soles, and securing means extending through said last-mentioned post tab portions and into at least one of said inner and outer shoe soles whereby to secure the lower post ends thereto while also closing the lower ends of said post pockets to retain the stiffening member in the related post pocket.

2. The structure of claim 1, and at least the stiffening member receiving post having an inner ply of greater width than the outer ply and which width is reduced by providing inturned and substantially longitudinally coextensive side Wings underlying said stiffening member limbs so that there will be a doubled inner post ply thickness between the stiffening member limbs and the foot of the shoe wearer.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, and the pocket of each of the posts having therein a U-form wire-like stiffening member having a bight portion, and substantially spaced limbs having inturned terminals which give the stiffening member an L-form side elevational appearance, said sling providing side portions at each side curving upwardly and rearwardly from the junction of the inner and outer shoe soles, the upper ends of said curving sling portions terminating well forwardly of the plane of the rear end of the shoe heel and in the rearwardly extending wearers heel-surrounding sling portion, and said posts connected to said sling at approximately the junction of said sling portions with one another, whereby to preserve the form of the first-mentioned sling portions and to always maintain the last-mentioned sling portion in proper elevated position so that when the shoe is in use the second-mentioned sling portion will snugly extend about the upper part of the wearers heel.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3, and each stiffening member receiving post an inner ply of greater width than the outer ply and which width is reduced by providing inturned and substantially longitudinally co extensive side wings underlying said stiffening member limbs so that there will be a doubled inner post ply thickness between the stiffening member limbs and the foot of the shoe wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,464,342 Rothacher Aug. 7, .1923 1,494,236 Greathouse May 13, .1924 1,704,299 Marsh et al. Mar. 5, 1929 1,843,271 Elkin Feb. 2, 1932 2,257,700 Meehan Sept. 30, 1941 2,463,348 Atlas Mar. 1, 1949 2,522,681 Leonard Sept. 19, 1950 2,693,039 Balut Nov. 2, 1954 2,700,229 Dubin Jan. 25, 1955 2,936,533 Paynor May 17, 1960 2,990,628 Black July 4, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 701,936 Great Britain Jan. 6, 1954 

1. A WOMAN''S OPEN HEEL SHOE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION AN INNER SOLE AND A HEEL-INCORPORATING OUTER SOLE, A TWO PLY INNER AND OUTER SOLE-CARRIED WEARER''S UPPER HEEL PORTION ENCIRCLING SLING, A ROW OF STITCHING SECURING SAID SLING PLIES TOGETHER ADJACENT OPPOSITE EDGES OF THE LATTER, AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING STRAP-SIMULATING TWO PLY SOLECARRIED POST OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SHOE, SAID POSTS LOCATED REARWARDLY OF THE SOLE-CARRIED ENDS OF SAID SLING BUT FORWARDLY OF THE WEARER''S UPPER HEEL-ENCIRCLING PORTION OF THE LATTER, A ROW OF STITCHING CONNECTING THE POST PLIES ADJACENT EACH SIDE OF THE LATTER WHEREBY TO PROVIDE A STIFFENING MEMBER-RECEIVING POCKET THEREBETWEEN, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID POST POCKETS BEING OPEN AT ITS LOWER END, A U-FORM WIRE-LIKE STIFFENING MEMBER HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY SPACED LIMBS AND HAVING A BIGHT PORTION, SAID STIFFENING MEMBER PROVIDING INTURNED LIMB TERMINALS WHICH GIVE IT A SIDE ELEVATIONAL L-FORM, SAID STIFFENING MEMBER BEING INSERTABLE BIGHT-END-FIRST INTO THE INITIALLY OPEN LOWER POCKET END OF SAID PARTICULARLY MENTIONED POST SO THAT THE LATTER WILL ALSO BE SIDE ELEVATIONALLY L-FORM, SAID STIFFENING MEMBER BIGHT PORTION BEING LOCATED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT ITS UPPER POCKET END AND SLING, WHEREBY TO SUSTAIN THE LATTER AND AVOID UNDUE WEAR AT THE UPPER POCKET END, THE OVERALL LENGTH OF SAID TWO POSTS AND LIKEWISE THE INITIAL LENGTH OF SAID POCKETS BEING GREATER THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID STIFFENING MEMBER, THE ENDS OF THE STIFFENING MEMBER TERMINATING SHORT OF EACH END OF ITS POST, TABS AT EACH END OF EACH OF SAID POSTS AND DEFINING THE POCKET ENDS, SAID TABS PROVIDED BY CONTIGUOUSLY ENGAGING PLY PORTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE POSTS, THE UPPER OF SAID POST TABS BEING COMPRESSED BETWEEN THE PLIES OF SAID SLING AND SECURED THERETO BY AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FIRST-MENTIONED ROWS OF STITCHING, THE LOWER POST-PROVIDED TAB PORTIONS AND ADJACENT POCKET PORTIONS ALONG WITH AT LEAST THE MAJOR PORTIONS OF SAID INTURNED STIFFENING MEMBER TERMINALS BEING COMPRESSED BETWEEN SAID INNER AND OUTER SHOE SOLES, AND SECURING MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID LAST-MENTIONED POST TAB PORTIONS AND INTO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID INNER AND OUTER SHOE SOLES WHEREBY TO SECURE THE LOWER POST ENDS THERETO WHILE ALSO CLOSING THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID POST POCKETS TO RETAIN THE STIFFENING MEMBER IN THE RELATED POST POCKET. 